Projects per year
Personal profile
Personal profile
Leif Johnson joined the department of China Studies in 2021. Trained as a geographer, his research focuses on migration and forms of legal and social bordering, with an emphasis on the roles played by gender in migration processes. His current research and writing focuses on the experiences of men who migrate into the construction industry in the Yangtze river delta, particularly in infrastructure construction.
Teaching
CCS 405 - Chinese Society
CCS 203 - China: Social Stratification and Change
CCS 304 - China: Understanding Gender
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Ph.D. University of Kentucky, 2021
MA, University of Kentucky, 2015
BA Macalester College, 2011
Research areas
- Urban infrastructure
- Masculinity studies
- Bordering processes
- Rural-urban migration
Person Types
- Staff
Fingerprint
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
Projects
- 2 Active
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The Line and the margins of Global China: Migration infrastructures and everyday encounters in Chinese trans-border mobility in and through Latin America
Johnson, L. (PI)
1/01/25 → 31/12/27
Project: Internal Research Project
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Population Medicine and Sustainable Development
Valerio Mendoza, O. M. (PI), Chen, S. (CoPI), Bofulin, M. (CoPI), Wang, X. (CoPI), Li, J. (CoPI), Yang, T. (CoPI), Liu, F. (CoPI), Kameyama, Y. (CoPI), Johnson, L. (Team member) & Wanglu, H. (Team member)
1/01/23 → 31/12/26
Project: Collaborative Research Project
Research output
- 5 Article
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The work of fluid metaphors in migration research: Geographical imaginations and the politics of writing
Johnson, L., Jacobsen, M. & Ehrkamp, P., Sept 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Progress in Human Geography.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access4 Citations (Scopus) -
Technologies of migration and citizenship: Life and work at the base of Shanghai’s digital infrastructure stack
Johnson, L., 26 Sept 2023, In: Global Media and China. 8, 3, p. 289-305 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Who builds Shanghai's fiber-optic network? Thinking urban infrastructure through migrant construction labor
Johnson, L., 29 Jan 2023, In: Environment and Planning A. 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access5 Citations (Scopus) -
Bordering Shanghai: China's hukou system and processes of urban bordering
Johnson, L., 1 Mar 2017, In: Geoforum. 80, p. 93-102 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
31 Citations (Scopus) -
Material Interventions on the US-Mexico Border: Investigating a Sited Politics of Migrant Solidarity
Johnson, L., Nov 2015, In: Antipode. 47, 5, p. 1243-1260 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
26 Citations (Scopus)
Activities
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Political Geography (Journal)
Leif Johnson (Reviewer)
Aug 2025Activity: Peer-review and editorial work of publications › Publication Peer-review
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Affective Noncitizenship and Unbelonging in the Chinese Megacity
Leif Johnson (Speaker)
5 Jun 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation at conference/workshop/seminar
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Space and Polity (Journal)
Leif Johnson (Reviewer)
Jun 2025Activity: Peer-review and editorial work of publications › Publication Peer-review
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American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting
Leif Johnson (Participant)
24 Mar 2025Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participating in an event e.g. a conference, workshop, …
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Beyond the urbanization of people: Reconsidering rural and urban identities in the Chinese megacity
Leif Johnson (Speaker)
24 Mar 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation at conference/workshop/seminar